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To celebrate Valentine’s Day tomorrow I created this art journal page and I used my winter window display as inspiration too as it looks so pretty with the red hearts and white snowflakes (double grin!).

Over at Try it on Tuesday, our current theme is Love is in the Air (think Hearts, Valentine’s Day, Love etc) and there is still another week to join in the fun, so it would be great to see you there!

I started by covering the page in a thin layer of Pébéo white gesso in preparation for the Faber-Castell Gelatos that I added next. Once dry, I graduated the Gelato colours using Iced Currant around the edges of the page then Iced Rosé then Metallic Icing in the centre using a sponge to blend them. Next I stamped some bars of music and a scroll border from Penny Black and also an “I Love You!” stamp by Hampton Art using black Archival Ink. I stamped my favourite circle and heart design from Sugarloaf Inc. using a VersaMark watermark stamp pad and covered it with white Stampendous embossing powder making sure any excess powder was removed using a paintbrush. Once the excess powder was safely returned to its container, I used a heat gun to melt the embossing powder. I swept the gun over the stamped images, taking care not to direct the heat in one area for too long until the embossing powder melted to a glossy finish and became smooth and dimensional. Then I used some silver metallic rub-on transfers from Royal & Langnickel to add the “Forever & Ever” and “Love” wording and also some hugs and kisses. For my snowflakes I used a trio snowflake die from Tonic Studios and some recycled white card. They are stuck to the page using Liquitex Matte Gel Medium and I finished them using some pretty glitter and silver snowflakes and also some sparkly jewel stickers. For the small hearts, I used a paper punch from Tonic Studios and some recycled red card and stuck them in place using the matte gel medium again. The cupid heart and postcard are from a card making kit by Docrafts and are stuck in place using double-sided tape. I also added an “I Love You” sticker to the postcard which is by Graphic 45. The chalkboard heart is a tag and I tied a red piece of leather into a bow and added our initials which are foam sticker letters. I coloured the letters using red Stickles in the centre and then edged them with silver Stickles using a very steady hand (grin!). I added three red hearts, to the focal images, which are punched from the same red card using another paper punch from Tonic Studios and also some more sparkly jewel embellishments to the background which finished the page.

I love our Valentine’s window display this year; it looks extra special with the lovely winter decorations that I made and the beautiful “G” and “J” initial decorations that were bought for us for Christmas.

The red hearts and white of the decorations and snowflakes look lovely together and the snowflakes seem even more relevant as we have snow forecast for this week too (grin!).

I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs like Try it on Tuesday as I enjoy taking part, they provide me with inspiration for my pages and are a wonderful way to meet like-minded arty people. So here are the challenges I’m joining today:

I’m pleased to join in the fun over at Moo Mania and More and their Valentine’s challenge.

As I included red on my page, I’m also joining the Roses are Red (use the colour Red) challenge over at The Artistic Stamper.

With the sleet and snow we had last weekend, which is rare as we live by the sea, I was inspired to create this journal page to remember the falling snowflakes that we saw!

I started by stamping a Script stamp from Kaisercraft and a Serpentine Background stamp from Art Impressions onto the page using black Archival Ink. Then I covered the page with a small amount of sea green and blue acrylic paints and also some white gesso using my finger. While the gesso was drying, I chose three decoupage papers which I folded a number of times to make them thicker so I could die cut them using my Big Shot and a trio of snowflake dies from Tonic Studios. They were quite fiddly to separate as the decoupage paper is so thin and delicate; it was well worth it though as I love the way they look layered on the page using Liquitex Matter Gel Medium to stick them down. Next I added some red border rub-on transfers from Docrafts Papermania and then I stamped the quote onto white tissue paper using the black Archival Ink. The quote is stuck onto the page using a UHU Stic and is by Aristotle, it reads:

“To appreciate the beauty of a snowflake it is necessary to stand out in the cold”.

The pretty Winter Time lady is a sticker from Graphic 45 which I thought matched the quote perfectly. For the birds, I stamped a Winter Woodland stamp onto white tissue paper twice using black Archival Ink and then I covered them with black Papermania embossing powder. As you can see I reversed one of the images, which you can do when using tissue paper as the ink goes straight through to the other side; you need to act quickly though when covering it with the embossing powder. I shook off the excess powder onto a piece of scrap paper although I wasn’t to worried about stray powder or coverage as I wanted to depict snowfall obscuring the visibility of the branch and birds by using the stray powder. I heated the stamped images with a heat gun, taking care not to direct the heat in one area for too long as the embossing powder melts very quickly on tissue paper. Next I ripped around the edges of the embossed images and stuck them down using a UHU Stic. I also sprinkled a little of the black embossing powder directly onto the page to enhance the snowfall effect. To finish, I applied some white DecoArt acrylic paint along the tree branches using a paintbrush, then to the snowflakes using my finger and finally to the whole page by using the paintbrush again to add white paint splatters.

Although we had sleet and snow, it was too wet for it to settle. The temperatures have been colder though so I’ve taken my Prague hat out of storage to keep me warm on our walks. This is the first UK winter I have been able to wear it, as normally it’s just not cold enough (grin!).

Here’s my hat on one snowy evening in Prague a few years ago (double grin!).

I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs as I enjoy taking part, they provide me with inspiration for my pages and are a wonderful way to meet like-minded arty people. So here are the challenges I’m joining today:

I’m pleased to be able to join the lovely Erika N, also known as BioArtGal, who is hosting the New Year, New Adventures challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my snowy adventure!

As I layered lots of die cut snowflakes on top of stamps and paint, then layered the quote and bird images that I stamped onto tissue paper I’m so happy to join the Layer It Up challenge over at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge.

I enjoyed using all the different stamps to create my page so I’m pleased to join the Anything Goes challenge over at The Artistic Stamper.

As I used some new crafting goodies (snowflakes dies, Rub-On Transfers and Graphic 45 Stickers) and techniques (die cutting decoupage paper) to create my Falling Snowflake page, I’m also joining the Ring in the New challenge over at the Mixed Media Monthly Challenge.

Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.

Here is a list of all the materials used to create this art journal page:

I created this page to wish all my friends here in blog-land Happy Holidays and, if you celebrate, a very Merry Christmas too!

I started by using some relief sticker surrounds to add detail to the page. Firstly using them as a stencil by sticking them down and applying Festive Berries and Peeled Paint Distress Inks with a blending tool. I also used the blending tool to add a circular pattern with the Peeled Paint ink. I then wiped the ink from the relief stickers with a piece of kitchen towel, removed them and reapplied them to different areas of the page to add more depth and interest. I love the white against this red and green colour combination. As the Distress Ink reactivates when wet I added some water droplets with a paintbrush and used kitchen roll to dry them which removed some of the ink. Next I added the snowflakes which are glittery Wall Stickers and the “Happy Holidays” writing and baubles, which are rub-on transfers from Royal & Langnickel. The little reindeer are Christmas decorations which I spotted whilst out shopping which I couldn’t resist buying them as they looked so cute (grin!). I stuck them to the page using a UHU glue pen and also a gold Brad; I did this by punching a hole through the page and wrapping ribbon around the brad before fastening it. I also covered the back of the brad with a piece of masking tape to protect my next journal page. I added red Stickles on one of the reindeer noses and Dovecraft 3D Black Pearl Effects on the other reindeer’s nose and also their eyes. A stitched ribbon tag which says “Merry Christmas” that I stuck down using double-sided foam tape finishes the page.

Every year I make a Christmas cake, I love baking and always make my own almond paste (marzipan) and fondant icing as well. My cake decoration changes each year and this year it is decorated with white stars and poinsettias (grin!).

I always make a light fruit cake rather than the traditional rich fruit cake. My recipe is a take on a Dundee Fruit Cake and contains no citrus/mixed peel and has dried sultanas, currants, pineapple, dates, apricots and cherries in it which are soaked in brandy for a week before I make it so they are nice and plump – yum!

We always cut our cake the week before Christmas and it’s lovely with a cuppa for elevensies! So I’m pleased to join the T Gang over at T Stands for Tuesday – Happy T Day! Wishing you all Happy Holidays and a very Merry Christmas! Jo x

Challenges

I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs as I enjoy taking part, they provide me with inspiration for my pages and are a wonderful way to meet like-minded arty people. So here are the challenges I’m joining today:

We recently went on a beautiful circular walk up to Rivington Pike summit which has the most breathtaking views. This walk took us through some amazing woodland and terraced gardens and we had such a wonderful time that I created this journal page to remember the magic that we discovered there!

For the background I used Milled Lavender, Cracked Pistachio and Tea Dye Distress Inks as well as a Charcoal Spectrum Aqua Marker by applying each of the inks directly to an acrylic block and holding the block over the page I spritzed it with water until the ink dripped onto the page. I also pressed the block onto the page in places and then I repeated the process again with each colour. I used the Milled Lavender and Tea Dye Distress Inks as well as black Archival Ink to stamp a Script from Kaisercraft. As a reminder of the woodland I stamped a tree bark stamp from BoBunny using Ground Espresso Distress Ink and to depict the ferns that we saw in the terraced gardens I also stamped a fern image from Royal & Langnickel using Cracked Pistachio Distress Ink. The page was then splattered with black acrylic paint using a paint brush. Next I tore pieces of music sheet and a turquoise blue decoupage paper into strips, to represent the waterfalls and pools that we saw and heard on our walk; they are stuck to the page using Liquitex Matte Gel Medium. I also tore a Penny Black sticker and added the shards to the page to add further texture and colour. Once the gel medium had dried I outlined the paper and sticker pieces with a black Uni Pin marker so they stood out more. The words are rub-on transfers, these represent the wonder and magic that we discovered during our walk. I added some gold outline stickers to represent the sunshine and autumnal gold colours of the leaves in the woodland. As we discovered lovely brickwork throughout the terraced gardens I stencilled a brick design using Pébéo modelling paste and a stencil from Craft Sensations, as well as a stencil made from a piece of plasterboard/drywall tape. Once the paste had dried, I coloured them with Cold Grey and Sanguine Faber-Castell Big Brush markers.

Then I stamped a bird image from Craft Sensations using black Archival Ink; I like the way the bird is looking out across the page as we did towards the views whilst on our walk. For the autumnal leaves, I used some leaves that were leftover from a previous project. The large oak and maple leaf images are from a stamp set by BoBunny and the smaller leaves are from a stamp set by Crafter’s Companion; they are stamped using black Archival Ink on a white medium weight paper. The paper is sprinkled with Scarlet, Yellow, Orange and Dark Brown Colourcraft Brusho powders and spritzed with water to react the bright and colourful Brusho colours. I fussy cut the leaves and then added more colour to them using Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Fired Brick and Seedless Preserves Distress Inks and a blending tool. Once dry I covered them with DecoArt Media Crackle Glaze, varying the thickness over the leaves and left them to dry overnight. I used a russet metallic lustre wax from Craf-T Products to accentuate the crackle patterns and I stained the edges of the leaves with a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and stuck them to the page using matte gel medium. To finish, I also stuck some paper flowers, with sparkly gem centres, to the page using the gel medium again.

The circular route up to Rivington Pike started off in style with a beautiful tree-lined avenue leading up to the woodlands.

The woodland path leads to the Rivington Terraced Gardens that are situated on the hillside below Rivington Pike; they occupy 45 acres in total. They were originally created between 1905-1922 for soap magnate Lord Leverhulme as a spectacular venue for him to relax in and entertain. Here we discovered woodland paths that crisscross and link stone bridges, archways, pavilions and water features; they are all currently undergoing restoration.

After exploring the terraced gardens we came across this beautiful archway leading up to track which leads to Rivington Pike, isn’t it beautiful!

Rivington Pike is hill summit which is 1,191 feet above sea level and is a prominent local landmark, the earliest record of this hill dates back to 1325. The building at the top is Pike Tower which was built in the eighteenth century as a hunting lodge.

The view is amazing and on a clear day you can see Blackpool Tower, the Isle of Man and the Lake District fells. At the summit we stopped and sat at one of the benches and had our pack lunch whilst we admired the views (grin!).

We walked down a different trail heading back towards the terraced gardens and discovered this four-storey building which is Pigeon Tower. The top floor was Lady Leverhulme’s sewing and music room and the second and third floors housed dovecotes.

There were some lovely views over the countryside from the tower.

This is Lever Bridge and its design is based on a bridge that Lever saw in Nigeria. It’s also known as Seven Arch Bridge as its large arch is crossed by six smaller ones.

Being a warm sunny day, it was lovely way to see the last of the autumnal colours and discover the stunning views and scenery – what a wonderful place it was to visit (grin!).

Challenges

I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs as I enjoy taking part, they provide me with inspiration for my pages and are a wonderful way to meet like-minded arty people. So here are the challenges I’m joining today:

As walking keeps you warm on crisp sunny autumn days, I joining the lovely Chris and her wonderful “101 Ways to Keep Warm” challenge over at Art Journal Journey.

My journal page today is inspired by a sign we have hung in our kitchen “Live, Laugh, Love”. I’ve created it using some new bird stamps and two of my favourite colours of Distress Ink.

I started by stamping a Script stamp by Kaisercraft in the bottom left and top right corners of the page using black Archival Ink. Then to create glossy silhouettes, I stamped some filigree shapes from 7 Gypsies at Hampton Art using black Versafine Ink and applied black Papermania embossing powder over the top. I shook the excess powder onto a piece of scrap paper and tapped the page against the table to make sure I had removed any stray powder. Once the excess powder was safely returned to its container, I used a heat gun to melt the embossing powder. I swept the gun over the images, taking care not to direct the heat in one area for too long, until the embossing powder changed to a glossy finish becoming smooth and dimensional. Next I covered the page in Twisted Citron and Salty Ocean Distress Inks using a blending tool overlapping the colours and blending them together. I applied modelling paste through a stencil from Creative Expressions using a palette knife and left it to dry. Then I stamped a series of tiny heart outlines from a Christmas stamp set by Hallmark Cards and also some pretty birds sitting on branches by Craft Sensations using the black Archival Ink again. I really like the bird stamps as they look like they have been sketched onto the page and it was easy for me to mimic the stamp design using a black Derwent Graphik marker when I extended the branches to the edge of the page. The black chalkboard heart is a wooden tag on which I applied a rub-on transfer by Kaisercraft, I really like the distressed look of the sentiment which reads:

“LAUGH as much as you breathe and LOVE as long as you LIVE”

For the other sign, I got creative and used a thick piece of black card, which was recycled from some old packaging. I distressed the edges with scissors and stained them with a Sanguine Faber-Castell Big Brush marker to match the colour of the heart edging. Next I fussy cut the “Live, Laugh, Love” wording from a vintage die cut shape and edged it with a green border using the rub-on transfers by Kaisercraft. I stuck it to the black card using a UHU Stic and then I used a black Derwent Graphik marker to give it a distressed look and drew a stitch pattern around the edge using a white Pentel gel pen. I’m pleased how these details helped the sign to match with the heart design. Both the heart and sign are stuck to the page using Glossy Accents. I finished the page by adding some blue and yellow paper flowers using the Glossy Accents again and adding some small black glossy flower and heart designer vinyl stickers by Craftime.

I think both sentiments on this page are great mottos to live by and even have a sign in our kitchen with the “Live, Laugh, Love” saying (grin!). This saying seems to be very common in homes today as it is often used on signs and mugs. It originated from a beautiful poem called “Success” written by Bessie Anderson Stanley in 1904 and is in essence a summary of the very first line:

“He achieved success who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much; Who has enjoyed the trust of pure women, the respect of intelligent men and the love of little children; Who has filled his niche and accomplished his task; Who has never lacked appreciation of Earth’s beauty or failed to express it; Who has left the world better than he found it, Whether an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul; Who has always looked for the best in others and given them the best he had; Whose life was an inspiration; Whose memory a benediction”.

Challenges

I always enjoy using stencils on my pages so I’m joining in the fun over at Moo Mania & More with their “Put a Stencil On It” challenge and also Country View Challenges with their “Stencils” challenge.

As I used a lot of stamps to create this journal page, I’m also pleased to be able to join in the “November Challenge: Anything Goes!: (stamping MUST be included)” at the Craft Stamper Take It, Make It Challenge.

I had fun creating this page and it is a great reminder of a lovely area of pools and fountains we discovered in Liverpool last week. We were there for my hubby’s birthday and this space was a welcome respite and such a peaceful and relaxing place that you could easily contemplate life from there. It had a beautiful lunar pool and a row of nozzle water fountains, so I got creative and created my page of contemplation. The design is also inspired by some blog challenges with its circles, glass and blue monochrome palette.

For the background I chose pages from an old Pear’s Cyclopaedia which detailed information about the universe and planets to match the lunar pool that we saw; I stuck these pages down using a UHU Stic. To depict the water I chose blue colours for this page and also circular patterns, so I stencilled a circle mask by Dutch Doobadoo using Chipped Sapphire and also Mermaid Lagoon Distress Ink with a blending tool. To soften some of these colours I spritzed the page with water and dabbed the ink with a piece of kitchen towel. Next I added strips of a blue dotted paper washi tape from The Works, ripping the edges so it faded into the background more. Then I stencilled the large circles using the same Dutch Doobadoo mask and coloured their centres with Aqua Dolce, Snow Cone and Boysenberry Faber-Castell Gelatos smudging the colour with my finger which I wet with a baby wipe to make it easier to blend.

I wanted to add lots of dimension to these large circles so I started by defining the edges of them using the Dutch Doobadoo mask again to apply some modelling paste. When the paste had dried, I painted it with white DecoArt arcylic paint so the circles stood out more and then covered them with glossy accents. While the glossy accents was still wet, I added white, dark blue and light blue glass beads into the gaps of the circle design to add more interest. I also covered the whole of the dark blue circles with glossy accents so they had a lovely shine; I think they look a bit like glass. I covered the background where I planned to place each of the quotes with a thin layer of white gesso using my finger and once dry, I added the three quotes which are rub-on transfers by Royal & Langnickel. These quotes seem to be perfect for contemplation:

“Worry not that no one knows of you; seek to be worth knowing” – Confucius

“Seeing yourself as you want to be is the key to personal growth” – Anonymous

“Thinking is the talking of the soul with itself” – Plato

I added some lines around the quotes with an old gift card using Teal and Navy Spectrum Aqua markers so they stood out more. I arranged some pretty blue mini gel stickers on the page with some small white flowers substituting the gem centres for blue gemstones to match my blue monochrome theme. To finish, I coloured some of the paper washi tape and also edged the page using a Navy Spectrum Aqua marker, smudging the ink with my finger.

This tranquil space can be found at Chavasse Park, across the road from Albert Dock next to the Liverpool One Shopping Centre. It’s a beautiful sight with the water, mature trees and grasses. The open pools take on a rippled effect that simulates the water of the nearby docks and the lunar pool remains still, reflecting the surrounding urban environment during the day and the sky at night; it symbolises the impact of the moon’s cycle on the tides.

These nozzle fountains display a wave pattern that emulates the ebb and flow of the tides.

Here I am behind the nozzle fountains trying not to get wet while hubby takes my photo (grin!).

Challenges

My contemplation page with the positive quotes is perfect for the “Landscapes of the Soul” challenge over at Art Journal Journey so I’m pleased to be able to join Elke from Meerwolkenleben who is hosting this month’s challenge.

All the circles on my page ties in nicely with the “Circles” challenge over at Try it on Tuesday.

I also chose my favourite colour, blue, as it seemed appropriate for the water and stayed true to this colour so I could join the “Monochrome” challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

With the glass beads and glass like effect I created with the Glossy Accents, I’m also joining in the fun over at Mixed Media World and their “Anything Mixed Media Goes with a Twist (Use or Imitate Glass)

Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.

Here is a list of all the materials used to create this art journal page:

With Halloween fast approaching I thought I’d have some fun and create this happy page to celebrate! I’m also pleased to be joining some of my favourite blog challenges which have inspired me to create this Tricks ‘n’ Treats page – Thank You!

I started by covering the background with Light Red Winsor & Newton watercolour paint using a baby wipe and then I splattered some black DecoArt acrylic paint using a paintbrush to add lots of texture and interest. I watered down some Pébéo white gesso and splattered that onto the page too; I like the way these dots have a spooky translucency to them. I tore some black cobweb decoupage paper from Dovecraft into three pieces and stuck them onto the page using a UHU Stic. Once the glue had dried, I distressed areas of the decoupage paper by rubbing it with a baby wipe. Then I coloured these areas using a Sanguine Faber-Castell Big Brush marker, smudging the colour with my finger and I also outlined some of the cobwebs with a white Pentel Hybrid gel pen so they stood out more. Next I added the Halloween Tricks ‘n’ Treats images which are from two different sets of rub-on transfers by Royal & Langnickel. I added shadows under these images using a Cold Grey Faber-Castell Marker and Desert Spectrum Aqua Marker and also added more detail to them using a black Derwent Graphik marker and a white Pentel gel pen. To create the ground underneath the black cat and children images, I stamped a diamond design from Art Impressions at the bottom of the page using black Archival Ink, Sanguine Faber-Castell Big Brush marker ink and white Docrafts Pigment Ink; layering the diamond pattern using these different inks on top of one another. As I liked Corrie‘s use of modelling paste on her page over at Country View Challenge, I added modelling paste to my page too using a Mini Squares stencil by Creative Expressions; I applied the Pébéo modelling paste using an old gift card and found it so much easier than using a palette knife. When the paste had dried I edged the page using a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker. Then to finish, I added the glittery flowers which are from Poundland and on the smaller flowers I exchanged the gemstone centres with red gems to tie into the colours that I’d used on the page.

As T Stands for Tuesday I’m sharing my cup of green tea and freshly homemade pumpkin roll filled with cream cheese frosting – what a “treat”, yum! I’m looking forward to chatting with all of the T Gang over a cuppa and wishing you all a Happy T Day!

Challenges

I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs as I enjoy taking part and meeting up with my blog friends. They also provide me with inspiration for my pages and are a wonderful way to meet like-minded arty people. So here are the challenges I’m able to join today:

The challenge over at Try it on Tuesday is “Its Halloween time” so I’m pleased to join this theme with my Tricks ‘n’ Treats page.

Over at Moo Mania & More it’s also Halloween time so I’m pleased to be joining their “Boo” theme too.

Allsorts Challenge Blog’s new challenge is “Halloween” so I’m joining their lovely design team with my Halloween inspired page.

With the autumnal colours on my page, I’m pleased to join the “Mixed Media with Autumnal Hues” challenge over at Country View Challenges.

As I used autumnal colours, I’m also joining in the fun over at A Vintage Journey and their “Crazy for Autumn Colour” challenge. My page focuses on their “Mixed Media” genre as I have used different mediums to create my Halloween inspired page and their “Art Journaling” genre as it’s my personal celebration of Halloween.